LaVine stays hot, leads Bulls to 1st win

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Zach LaVine scored 32 points, including a pair of decisive free throws with 0.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and the Chicago Bulls held on for a 112-110 win over the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night.

LaVine joined Michael Jordan (1986) as the only players in franchise history to start a season with four consecutive games of 30-plus points. He drove to the paint in the final seconds to draw a foul with the score tied at 110, and calmly made both free throws to lift Chicago to its first win.

Cameron Payne scored a career-high 21 points and tied a Bulls record by draining seven 3-pointers in a single half. Teammate Ryan Arcidiacono added a career-high 10 points in 17 minutes off the bench.

LaVine missed a jump shot from the top of the key with less than 10 seconds left that could have put the Bulls on top. Hornets forward Malik Monk grabbed the rebound before Charlotte quickly called a timeout to set up a final play.

LaVine foiled the plan, interrupting the inbounds pass and forcing a Charlotte turnover with 5.1 seconds remaining. That set up LaVine’s final heroics.

The Bulls led 88-82 entering the fourth quarter. Payne ignited an 11-2 run with two 3-pointers in less than a minute. He ended the quarter with 15 points on five 3-pointers, drawing teammates out of their seats to cheer from the bench.

Chicago clung to a 54-53 lead at halftime.

The Hornets seized a 21-13 lead to open the game. Walker capped the fast start with a 3-pointer from the left wing.

The Bulls battled back with a 28-12 run to pull ahead by eight points in the second quarter. Rookie swingman Chandler Hutchison provided a highlight during the rally with a thunderous, one-handed dunk over Marvin Williams.

Chicago played its first game since Kris Dunn went down with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. The third-year point guard is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks.